The present invention relates to a novel cold plate particularly useful in refrigerating food articles.
Many comestible items require refrigeration to prevent or retard bacterial growth. This is especially pertinent in the handling of dairy products such as milk, cream, butter, and the like, although not limited to this class of goods. It has been found that bacterial growth is severely restricted if many food products are kept below 55.degree., eg: refrigerated. Where food products are served, such as the restaurant setting, many items are placed on the table for hours at a time without refrigeration. This practice has led to the spoiling of dairy products as well as to the possibility of exposing humans to bacterial infection.
Prior devices have been proposed which have attempted to solve this problem by proposing various portable refrigeration units. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,039,736 to Munters discloses a refrigeration thermos which employs eutectic solutions in a sleeve. U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,317 to Bufalini shows a heat exchanging attachment for receptacles which uses a container which sits above a pot holding eutectic material. An air gap separates the eutectic material from the bottom of the container. The Burg U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,483 and Peters U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,880 describe various serving dishes using eutectic materials in direct contact with supporting plates thereabove. The Drake U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,410 describes a slab for mixing dental materials which includes a coolant enclosed in a plastic container. The slab and coolant are supported on a plastic base.
None of the prior devices provides for adequate insulation of the coolant. In this regard, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 2,779,495 to Davis which describes an insulated coaster for drinking glasses. Also, cold plates or heat sinks must be resistant to extreme temperature conditions ranging from -10.degree. F. in a freezer to approximately 180.degree. F. in a dishwasher. In this regard, any insulation must be protected adequately against moisture intrusion from the condensate and washing liquids such as soap and water. No prior devices are known which solve the heretofore delineated problems.